Vol. 3, No. 1 • Fall 1998

Stay, Just a Little Bit Longer!
by Joan S. McAllister

Perhaps you are sixteen or seventeen, and you are living in foster care. Perhaps you are in a group home or a foster home. Your social worker has talked with you about your future plans, and the only thing you really want to do is to GET OUT ON YOUR OWN! Understandable? Yes. Wise? Maybe so, maybe not. Here are a few questions to think about.

Can I get a job that will support me now and for the long run?
Maybe being a checker at the Food Lion or a server at McDonalds pays you enough to rent a room now, but will it be enough for all of your expenses? Do you have enough money put aside to pay for rent and utility deposits, medical expenses, setting up housekeeping, and buying clothes?

Do I have enough education?
The fact is simple: the more education you have, the more choices you have for good employment and career development. Do you have enough education to move up in your chosen career? If you are not interested in a four-year college, you may want to explore training opportunities available through community colleges, the military, Job Corps, or private industry. Your high school guidance counselor should have information about job training opportunities in your area.

Can I afford job training or college?
If you want to get job training or go to college, there are lots of resources that can help you get there. Most vocational/educational programs have financial aid programs that include scholarships, grants, and loans. Your high school guidance counselor or social worker can help you find out about these, or you can write directly to the school�s financial aid office.

If I go to a community college or job training program, where could I live? If I go to a school with dormitories, what would I do about vacations?
If you sign a Voluntary Placement Agreement (VPA) with the DSS, you can continue to stay in a foster home while you attend school until the age of 21. Even if you are in Job Corps or another residential school, this would guarantee you a place to stay for vacations and weekends. You do have to be in school full time, or enrolled for the upcoming semester for a full time educational or vocational program to remain eligible for a VPA. Counties do not have to offer this arrangement, so ask your social worker about the policy in your county.

Am I ready to be totally on my own?
Being on your own is a huge responsibility and often a big headache. While it is nice to not have other people telling you when to go to bed, eat, and who you can be with, these will be decisions that you will have to make based on other factors in your life.

Bedtime is usually defined by work or school hours and the amount of sleep you require. Eating is based on hunger, availability of food and your ability to prepare it. Your choice of friends may depend on your personal values and your dreams for yourself. Your recreational time may depend on the amount of money, time, and energy you have after taking care of the essentials such as rent and utilities.

Your agency is responsible for providing Independent Living Services to you, based on what you need to learn. The Life Skills Inventory helps you evaluate your knowledge and abilities in fourteen areas:

Money management/consumer awareness Food Management Personal Appearance and Hygiene Health Housing Housekeeping Transportation Educational Planning Job Seeking Skills Job Maintenance Skills Emergency and Safety Skills Knowledge of Community Resources Interpersonal Skills Legal Issues

It is important that you participate honestly in the assessment so that the skill development activities will meet your needs. This means that you need to tell your social worker and foster parent when you need assistance in learning how to do things on your own. No one knows how to do all of the skills listed, even adults who have been managing on their own for years. It is important to have basic skills in each area, because if necessary, you can learn intermediate and advanced skills from experience.

What if I decide later that I don�t want to be a part of a VPA?
As an adult, you have the right to end the agreement at any time. It will be important that you are very sure of your decision, because once the agreement is ended it cannot be restarted. The DSS also has the right to end the agreement at any time. They must end the agreement if you quit the school or training program, or if you fail and cannot return.

I know a guy that is eighteen who wishes he had stayed in foster care on a VPA. Can he still do it?
No. In order for a person to sign a VPA, they must sign it the day they become eighteen years of age or the day they become emancipated. They must also have been continuously in the custody of the DSS prior to the signing of the agreement.

Joan McAllister is an Independent Living Consultant for the North Carolina Division of Social Services.

Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families